Pride
by TheImperious
Summary: The folly of others is a treat to be savored.


Pride

Shahrivar stalked the through the jungle trees on silent feet. The leaves barely shook as he dashed from one patch of darkness to the next. He passed through the scarce rays of sliver moon light without casting a shadow. Shahrivar had spent ages perfecting his skills in the merciless city of dark light. Out here, in the real space, he was like a phantom.

There was discord all throughout the jungle. Some alien race was invading this planet. There were swarms of strange creatures ravaging everything in sight, from human to animals and even the trees. It was an odd spectacle but Shahrivar couldn't be bothered. He had the hunt on his mind. The commander of these humans was below him. A 'gen-r-all', that's what they called their leaders. His soul would be a fine prize. But the invading aliens had been too much for the humans. In the face of a swarm the 'gen-r-all' and his guard surrendered to their fears and turned tail. Humanity really was a race of weaklings. There were only one, two, three, four, five of them to kill. And none of them were looking back. The fools were almost making it too easy.

Shahrivar could taste the panic in their musky ape stink. _Revolting. _Like a whispering breeze the soulless eldar whooshed between the lofty trees. He sprinted after the humans with his rifle in hand. The last man in line never heard his death coming. Sharhrivar leapt out, thrusting his weapon forward. Its many serrated razors plunged into the human's back. The man tried to scream but there was no air in his lungs. Shahrivar could feel the agony, the terror, radiating off the dying human. It was invigorating. _One._

The other humans hadn't noticed they were missing a warrior. The Kabalite huntsmen wrenched his rifle out of the shuttering man to take aim. He took an extra breath to see his next chosen prey clearly down the scope. Between the hips would do nicely.

_Thuf._

The splinter rifle chirped. Ghostly pink glass sailed over the jungle floor. The splinter shot through the unsuspecting man's pelvis and began to crack apart. _Two. _The short scream was music to his ears. The human collapsed and Shahrivar disappeared again. He flattened himself into the silhouette of a tree. While the wind tussled the ferns around him, the hunter lightly rocked the spikes of his armor to and fro. One of the human's turned to help their comrade, _buffoon_.

"Leave him! The bugs can take him and this whole damn system!"

Shahrivar didn't understand much of their human speak, nor did he care to. His eyes told him all he needed to know. The 'gen-r-all' was not about to stop running.

The humans left the dead man were he lay. The three that remained were mad with fear now. They ran clumsily through the thickets trying to reach some far off safe haven. They were all so stupid, so contemptible, so weak. Humanity truly was filled with nothing but Mon-keigh. Shahrivar dashed through the shadows again. Cover to cover, he outran, and began to circle his prey. How grand it was to be superior.

Vines took one human by the foot. He gasped and fired his weapon into the dirt. The other body guard turned but the 'gen-r-all' did not. With a grin, Shahrivar raced like a panther at the pair of soldiers from their flank. The humans didn't see him until he was amongst them. With the hooks on his elbow the forsaken eldar slashed into one man's neck. Shahrivar looked the man in the eyes to see his fright. Crimson spilt like a streamer from the gash. The shock on the human's face drained away as the forever-sleep crept over him. Shahrivar could fell the excitement pulsing through his veins. There was no more satisfying feeling then watching someone realize they were already dead. _Three._

Primitive weapon fire sprayed around Shahrivar. The sprinting eldar murderer tumbled back into the shadows. Ruled by his panic, the human kept firing into nothing. Shahrivar crouched in a shrub, scoffing at the pathetic display. _These creatures have an empire,_ he did not understand it. But there was no denying these human's made entertaining sport.

_Thuf._

The human fell dead with a shard in his throat. _Four._

Without sparing another thought Shahrivar ran onward. Only one remained. He pulled a leash and binders from his belt and raced underthe low hanging branches. The 'gen-r-all' would be the best catch of the raid. With such a splendid trophy to offer the Archon, Shahrivar expected to be given a real authority, especially if something happened to his team commander on the way back to Commorragh. But where had the 'gen-r-all' run off to?

The human commander had left quite a trail. The broken sticks and flattened grass should have led Shahrivar right to the prey. But the tracks stopped cold. The 'gen-r-all' had vanished without a trace. _Impossible._ The hunter flexed his senses. He looked, listened, and smelt all he could. Wind shook the leaves. The battle was raging elsewhere, but near him was only quite. And then he smelt it, the coppery tang of Mon-keigh blood. Where was it coming from? Shahrivar felt a droplet splash on his shoulder, yet there was no rain in the sky.

The eldar looked up into the darkness of the canopy. A drop of red fell on his porcelain cheek. The body of the 'gen-r-all' came crashing down. It smacked a branch and broke it from the tree with a _crack!_ Shahrivar dove aside, and snapped his rifle up to his shoulder.

The 'gen-r-all' was dead, his head had been thoroughly mutilated. Shahrivar's had been denied his trophy. What was this? A joke!? If it was Anahita or Zal poaching his prisoners again he'd kill them. He'd kill them both anyway, and their team commander. They were all vultures conspiring to shame him. Shahrivar was so sick of them all. The very thought sailing back to Commoragh with the lot of them was nauseating.

But no eldar allies showed themselves. The longer Shahrivar looked up into the shadows, the less he thought the others were hiding from him. A low, clicking, growl began to rumble. Then he saw it, the eyes. Tiny, shimmering orbs of gold were staring down at him. They were the eyes of another hunter. It was challenging him. _Fine. You look to be better prey_.

Shahrivar's splinter rifle hissed and threw poisoned glass into the trees to distract his opponent. The eldar dashed into the cover of darkness. The eyes lurking in the tree tops were gone. Swaying with the wind, Shahrivar waited for a sign.

Stillness. Roars and gunfire in the distance. Frightened birdsong all around.

This new creature was an alpha predator as well. Shahrivar couldn't find it. But whatever this thing was, it was still less than perfection. Shahrivar would simply wait for it to make a mistake, just one. That's all he would need.

The growl faintly reached his ears. It was near, very near, but where? Shahrivar's black almond eyes darted side to side, up and down. But he saw nothing. The rumbling growl faded away. His pointed ears strained to find the sound again. But all Shahrivar could hear was his own thundering heart beat.

Air whiffed on the back of his neck. The faintest trace of musk blew over his shoulder. _Impossible!_

Shahrivar sprung forward as tremendous talons nearly sliced him from behind. The eldar whipped his rifle around and fired. Pink crystals whizzed through the empty air. The predator creature had dropped low, and was scuttling into the underbrush. Then it was gone again. Shahrivar looked right at it. One moment it had been crawling clear as day. The next moment, it was lost in the jungle. _Simply impossible._

Another day. Shahrivar would catch this thing another day. He would catch it and kill it. He'd skin it alive and eat those golden eyes. He'd bring the others to watch as he did it too. But not now. Shahrivar ran up the nearest tree. With bounding strides from branch to branch, he made his way back towards the rest of the raiding party.

The predator was following. Its feet were soft, but not soft enough. Shahrivar could hear it running right below him. _Humf._ Perhaps he'd bring its carcass back after all. The eldar landed lithely and turned pointing his rifle into the night. The crunch of leaves under the monster's feet grew louder. But there was nothing to see through the rifle scope.

_Snap!_

Shahrivar looked up and cursed. A falling claw ripped down his back. The eldar went spilling to the earth. Shahrivar landed on his hands and knees with a huff. His arms trembled as pain and blood dripped from his back. He'd been caught off guard, it was inconceivable. He was scarred now. His perfect body would forever bare a mark of one, momentary defeat. What was this thing? Where was it? Where was his rifle?

The raspy growl crescendoed into a soft roar. The predator revealed itself in the waning moonlight. While Shahrivar's armor was crafted from razor edges and spikes, this thing body was grown from hooks and thorns. The creature reared up on two legs. It was twice his size. Four spindly insect arms ended in a apirs of long sharpened bone scythes and terrible shredding claws. A dozen writhing tendrils dangled around its mouth. Splotches of grey and blue danced across its skin in rhythm with the swaying shadows. It was horrendously ugly, and it was waiting for Shahrivar to make a move.

The dark eldar slipped an envenomed dagger from his hip. He commanded his hands to stop shaking from pain. Shahrivar drank in the serenity of the moment. He was going to kill this thing here and now. He would drag its lifeless corps all the way back to Commoragh. Then he would kill off all his enemies. And once he had a throne, he would rest his feet on this thing's skull. Shahrivar ran at the monster with a paper thin smirk on his face. His knife dripped hyper-lethal toxins.

The predator hissed and flexed its chest. Harpoons shot from between its ribs. Shahrivar's smirk flashed into a wide eyed grimace. A hand full of bony lances tore into his chest. The force knocked him off his feet. He hacked blood up over his face as he swore. The spikes lodged in his lung pulled at him. Sinewy cords of tendons were reeling him in. Shahrivar swore again, he'd dropped his knife. All at once the flesh hooks ripped the eldar from the ground towards the monster. Gnashing his teeth Shahrivar brought his elbows and knees together.

Like a serrated cannon ball, Shahrivar plunged into this creature. With the half a dozen blades along his armor he kneed it in the side and thrashed his elbows in its chest. It hissed, billowing a staggering smell from its tendrils. He gouged its eye out and rammed his razor gauntlet as far as he could into the beast head. The thing went limp. It toppled to the ground with Shahrivar underneath it.

The dark eldar snarled as he tried to pull spikes from his chest. He was scarred again. His body was ruined for all to see. The thought caused him more pain than his physical wounds. He wouldn't let the others see him like this, they'd kill him for sure. He would have to kill them first. But his concerns became fleeting as he found he couldn't move. The dead thing had him pined. His shredded back muscles were seizing and refused to obey. Shahrivar coughed blood with every agonizing breath. He had to get out from under his trophy and carry it back. He just had to. He'd won damn it!

Shahrivar was not about to waste away here to be picked at by the bottom feeders. With all his will and an unsteady hand he pulled one thorn from his chest. The spike's flared edges ripped out pieces of him. He tossed the flesh harpoon aside, thinking curses very strongly in his mind. There were still two buried inside of him. Breath was becoming harder, he needed to hurry. The kabalite pulled the second and third alien spike form his torso. All the while, he bore the agony with no expression on his face. He wriggled free and rose to his feet.

Quietly Shahrivar hacked up fluid from his lungs. _Better._ He turned his cynical eye to the dead beast. His back still trembled, he couldn't carry it. Nor could he leave empty handed. He would take the head. That would be enough to laud over his 'companions.' With the blades on his wrists, he stooped down to saw at the thing's neck.

"hey…"

Shahrivar looked up. A pale human called to him from the underbrush. The man's back was bloody and his legs were lip. It was number one, the first human he'd killed. The first who should have been dead. The wounded man pointed a pistol at Shahrivar.

_POP!_

"…xeno… bastard…"

* * *

**It's an warhammer adaptation of an Aesop story! I dare you to guess which one.**


End file.
